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New Orleans Pelicans lose Eric Gordon to knee injury but still prevail against Atlanta Hawks, 111-105

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Atlanta Hawks' DeMarre Carroll, left, and New Orleans Pelicans' Eric Gordon, right, battle for the rebound in the first half of their NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2014, in Atlanta. Gordon injured his left knee in the first quarter and did not return to the game. (AP Photo/David Tulis)

Atlanta – Until Friday night, New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard Eric Gordon had shown signs of durability, missing just four games and not having any knee injury setbacks like he endured the previous two seasons.

But Gordon injured his left knee during the first quarter in Friday night’s 111-105 victory against the Atlanta Hawks and did not return. After the game, Monty Williams said Gordon suffered from a flare up of tendinitis in his left knee and he may return on Saturday night when the Pelicans play the two-time defending champion Miami Heat at the Smoothie King Center.

But the Pelicans (28-40) had enough firepower to withstand not having Gordon, though the Hawks (31-36) came in on a five-game winning streak and are desperate to hold the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

After missing Wednesday’s game against Toronto with an upper respiratory infection, forward Anthony Davis returned to form and scored 34 points. It was Davis' seventh consecutive game scoring 28 or more points, a franchise record. Davis made 11 of 19 shots and grabbed 11 rebounds.

''We pulled it out and that's all that matters,'' Davis said. ''Guys stepped up and that's what we need.''

Davis said he hasn't completely recovered from his upper respiratory infection, but he's pushing to not miss anymore games.

The Pelicans had been struggling to close out games effectively, but they made their push in the fourth quarter after trailing 71-69. The Pelicans scored 42 points in the quarter and swingman Tyreke Evans finished with 21, guard Brian Roberts had 16 and forward Luke Babbitt came off the bench and scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter.

''We just continued to fight,'' Babbitt said. ''I think early in the fourth quarter we went on a little run. We went with a different lineup and we some space so guys had driving lanes.

Rivers mostly played off the ball, while Evans initiated the offense for stretches in the fourth quarter. With that combination, New Orleans took a 72-71 lead early in the fourth quarter and didn't relinquish it after taking advantage of a 12-0 run that began late in the third quarter.

The Pelicans led by as much as 10 twice in the fourth quarter before the Hawks made a late push behind guard Jeff Teague. The Hawks cut the Pelicans' lead to 109-105 after Teague made a driving layup with 19 seconds remaining. Teague scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, but the Pelicans closed out the game with Davis making two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining.

''After the way we've lost games over the past couple of weeks, it's just nice to get a win,'' Williams said. ''Obviously, we love the production of our bench. We had a number of guys step up. When you have a lot of guys out, you need to everybody to step up. I'm trying to mix and match and find lineups and the guys are just stepping up and making plays.''

The Pelicans opened the game by turning the ball over four times on their first seven possessions. Nine minutes into the game, both teams had combined for just 25 points. The Pelicans, however, closed out the opening quarter with a 20-16 lead, despite making only 6-of-14 shots.

Neither team shot well or made a big push in the first half. The Pelicans took a eight-point lead in the first quarter, but couldn’t hold it and went into halftime with the score tied at 44.

Gordon played only eight minutes in the first quarter and scored two points before he left the game for good. He tried going through stretching exercises during halftime, but the pain apparently persisted.

Prior to this season, Gordon
had played in just 51 games since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers
in 2011 for All-Star guard Chris Paul. In his first season with New
Orleans, Gordon missed all but nine games to remove loose cartilage from his
right knee.

Last season, Gordon led the Hornets with a 17.0 scoring average this season,
but missed the first 29 games of this season because of a patella tendon
disorder and bone bruise in his right knee. But the latest setback doesn't appear to be as serious as his previous knee injuries.

After the game, Gordon walked gingerly out of the trainer's room at Philips Arena, but said briefly that he's going to be fine.